Crime is a significant problem in the United States today, and public awareness of crime continues to rise. A natural reaction, which is evident in the marketplace, is that people are seeking additional security against crime, not only as a preventive measure but also simply for greater peace of mind. Accordingly, the degree of security associated with a given product is, now more than ever, a significant factor in the minds of the purchasing public. Obviously, the security factor is particularly acute in relation to the home.
People want to be safe and feel secure in their homes. However, the typical person does not want his or her home to look or feel like a fortress. A balance must be struck between safety and comfort, and convenience and cost must be taken into account, as well. The gliding glass door is a relatively popular home feature that exemplifies the kind of compromise between comfort and safety that people are willing to accept. The large expanse of glass "opens up" a room by allowing sunlight to enter and allowing occupants of the room to look outside, but the large expanse of glass also provides access to any criminal who would be willing to break the glass to enter through the door. In this regard, however, criminals typically prefer less conspicuous modes of entry, such as through an unlocked or easily jimmied door. Thus, most people would be comfortable with the security afforded by a gliding glass door so long as the door can be reliably and securely locked, and breaking the glass is the only way to gain unlawful entry.
An object of the present invention is to provide a gliding door latch that can move to a locked position only when the gliding door is properly located adjacent the door jamb, so that people cannot move the latch to a locked position without successfully latching the door and mistakenly believe the door to be latched when in fact it is not latched.
The "false latching" scenario discussed in the preceding paragraph may be caused by weather stripping disposed between the gliding door and the jamb. Typically, some amount of weather stripping must be compressed in order to provide an effective seal between the door and the jamb. Under such circumstances, an attempt to latch a Prior Art latching assembly may fail if the door is not pressed against the jamb with sufficient force to compress the weather stripping. Accordingly, another object of the present invention is to provide a gliding door latch that requires less force to close and successfully latch a gliding door, but that satisfactorily compresses weather stripping nonetheless.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a gliding door latch that provides significant resistance to vertical movement of the gliding door relative to the door frame, so that a criminal cannot simply rock or lift the door to overcome the latch.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a gliding door latch having greater structural integrity than Prior Art latching assemblies, so that a criminal cannot simply use force to overpower any of the latch components.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a gliding door latch that locks effectively and yet is also aesthetically pleasing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a gliding door latch that is reliable and durable.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a gliding door latch that is easily installed and has interengaging components that are readily adjusted relative to one another.
Additional objects of the present invention will become apparent from the description that follows.